


Of Friendship and Care

by Ghostnic



Series: Muggle AU [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Past Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:48:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24599293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostnic/pseuds/Ghostnic
Summary: Muggle High School AUHarry is now safe from the Dursleys and in the care of his Godfather Sirius Black. His friendship with Draco continues to grow, and Ron and Hermione are back from their summer trips. Harry should be the happiest he has ever been. However, nightmares keep him up at night, and his horrible mood has escalated into his first fight with his new guardian.Usually the September 1st is a day Harry looks forward to all summer long. So why is it that morning Harry woke with a scowl already on his face, and a ball of unease boiling in the pit of his stomach.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Sirius Black & Harry Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Muggle AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778167
Comments: 27
Kudos: 263





	Of Friendship and Care

September 1st meant a lot of things. It was the end of summer where the heat filled days slowly began to fade. It was the beginning of fall, when leaves would begin to brown as children counted down the days to Halloween. And, each year without fail, it was the first day of classes at Hogwarts. Now to Harry, who usually looked forward to this day all summer long, September 1st was a day to be celebrated. Since his First Year, on the 1st of September he would rush through his morning routine, before running from Number 4 Private Drive to the bus stop he knew would take him home to Hogwarts. 

However, on the 1st of September 1995, Harry Potter woke with a scowl already on his face, and a ball of unease boiling in the pit of his stomach. 

“Harry, you need to get up,” Sirius’s voice broke through the cacoon Harry had built of his blankets. “You’re going to be late.”

Harry remained still. From the doorway to his bedroom, Sirius sighed, before slowly pacing away down the hall. It was only once he heard his Godfather banging around in the Kitchen that Harry decided to move from the safety of his blankets. 

That summer had been the best of Harry’s life. For the first time ever, Harry had felt safe. Sirius was the perfect guardian. They ate meals together, watched tv, took Snuffles for walks, and generally Harry felt as though he could talk to his Godfather about everything. On top of that, Draco and he were able to hang out nearly every day, spending their time hanging out at the Manor playing football, or eating ice-cream at the parlour near Harry’s home. Despite his complaining, Harry knew Draco secretly loved leaving the manor to spend the day together. 

On his birthday, Sirius went above anything Harry could have expected, pulling off a surprise birthday party. He had invited the Malfoys and Remus, whom Harry now called Moony, to attend the small barbeque Sirius had whipped up. The entire night had been overwhelming, but not in the way that dinner with the Weasleys usually was. Rather than the loud rambunctious crowd the Weasleys were, the party was small and intimate, full of birthday wishes, sincere chatter, and presents. When it came to dinner, Sirius and Moony were both thrilled watching Mr. Malfoy suffer as he attempted to eat a hamburger with a knife and fork, sitting and giggling like schoolgirls as they snuck glances at the struggling man.

That night, Harry opened more presents then he had ever received in his entire life, thanking all the adults with stunned disbelief at the hoard of things he’d received. 

“My dear, these things are merely a necessity, not a luxury,” Mrs. Malfoy claimed as Harry opened a present to reveal yet another set of expensive looking black jeans. “Think nothing of it.”

His nodded at her words, but his stunned expression gave away his disbelief. When he finally reached his last present, an engraved silver pocketknife from Sirius, Harry was at a loss for words at the pile of things he had accumulated. 

“Alright, Prongslet,” Sirius clapped. “Why don’t you take all this stuff up to your room while I get the cake.”

Harry nodded slowly, staring at the table of clothes, shoes, books and other gifts. 

“Come on, Potter,” Draco said, grabbing a handful of presents from the table before making his way inside. 

Harry scrambled to retrieve the remaining presents, ignoring the laughter of the adults as he followed Draco inside. 

“There,” Draco threw all the presents on Harry’s bed with a thud. “All done.”

Harry winced.

“Could you be more careful?”

“Nothing was breakable.”

Harry huffed. A pair of pants slumped to the floor and Harry gave Draco the side eye. Walking to the bed, Harry gathered his presents, stockpiling what he received. Then, he took the time to place each present away in his cupboards. He ignored Draco as he worked, letting the other boy inspect the room he already knew too well.

“This is new,” He said, pointing to the pin board stuck to the wall covered in photos. The photo Draco pointed to was of him and Harry standing in the backyard in soaking wet clothes, covered in soap after trying to give Snuffles a bath. They were smiling at the camera, Draco trying to act annoyed, his arms crossed, and eyes rolled, but a sure smirk painted his face. 

“Yeah, Moony took it with his disposable, remember? We just got it developed.”

“Huh.”

Harry went back to packing his things away, oblivious to the way Draco was staring behind him. He heard some shuffling, and he ignored Draco who he bet was ruffling through more of Harry’s things. The boy had no sense of privacy, Harry had learnt. 

“Uh, Potter?”

Harry hummed. 

“Potter.”

He placed more clothes into the draws.

“Oh, for god sakes, Harry. Turn around!”

Harry rolled his eyes, too used to Draco’s commands to take offense anymore. Finally, he shut the draw’s before turning to face the other boy. Standing in front of him, Draco Malfoy held out a neatly wrapped present, topped with red and gold ribbon. 

“Happy birthday,” Draco murmured.

“You got me a present?” Harry gingerly took the present from Draco’s hands. 

“No, Potter, why would you think that?” Draco rolled his eyes. “Just open it, you dunce.”

With a small smile, Harry slowly unwrapped the extravagantly wrapped present. He could tell Draco was itching for him to hurry, annoyed the wrapping wasn’t ripped away quickly. Once Harry removed all the tape, he pulled away the paper, revealing a small, leather bound book with a family crest engraved on the front. Harry ran his hand over the engraving, tracing the letter P in the centre. He frowned. 

“It’s the Potter family crest.”

Harry blinked. 

“What?”

“The book was in our library. It’s tradition for families like ours to have a journal dedicated to the history of our lineage. That one is yours.”

His heart clenched at the words. He couldn’t keep the small gasp slipping from his mouth. Sure enough, on the first page, the book began detailing the history of the Potter family, listing names Harry had never had the privilege of knowing.

“I mean, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to have it,” Draco spoke quickly. “I can get you something else-”

Draco’s words were halted when he found himself engulfed in a tight, warm hug. Without thinking, the blonde wrapped his arms around the thinner boy. He breathed in, suddenly filled with the scent of Harry’s shampoo. It was a sweet scent, but one he could not place. 

“Thank you,” Harry whispered in his ear, causing goose bumps to rise along his skin. 

All Draco could do was nod and pray the other didn’t notice the effect the hold was having on him.

It was a few weeks after his birthday, that Harry was reunited with Ron and Hermione. He was even surprised to find neither of them were overly angry at him for withholding the truth of his summer from them. That wasn’t to say they weren’t hurt. 

“We just wished you had of told us, mate,” Ron picked at the hole ripped in the knees of his pants. They had gathered at the Weasleys for the reunion, sitting under the shade of an old oak tree. 

Hermione patted her eyes with a tissue, nodding along to Ron’s words. 

“I know,” Harry scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. You guys are allowed to hate me.”

Even saying the words physically pained Harry. 

“Don’t be stupid!” Hermione threw her arms around Harry’s neck. “We don’t hate you.”

“Yeah, you idiot. We love you,” Ron bumped his knees against Harry’s. “Just don’t lie to us about this shit again. We could have helped you!”

The words nearly stopped Harry’s heart as he thought about his promised silence to Draco.

“I’m sorry.”

“When do we get to meet Sirius?” Hermione asked. 

Ron nodded in agreement, and by the end of the week, Harry had introduced his two best mates to his new guardian. He wasn’t surprised to find they got on like a house on fire. 

So, one might ask why despite having the best summer of his life, three overly supportive, amazing best friends, and a loving, caring guardian Harry was in a sour mood the morning of his first day of Fifth Year? Well, he couldn’t quite figure it out himself.

If Harry were being honest with himself, he knew this mood had been developing for weeks now. Because, despite all the amazing things he now had in his life, his unconscious mind refused to get with the memo. Each night over the past few weeks, Harry had woken screaming. 

The first week Sirius had been understanding. Each night, once it started, his Godfather would run to Harry’s side, waking the screaming teen from his nightmare with a gentle touch and comforting words. When he finally woke, Harry was always the same. Hard faced, unwilling to talk, a mixture of embarrassment and shame washing over him. 

The second week, Sirius grew tireder, though no less frantic to help his godson. 

By the third week, Sirius was intent on talking about the issue. Harry was keen to avoid such a talk. This had resulted in their first ever fight, which occurred the night before Harry’s first day of school. 

“Harry,” Sirius spoke.

Harry kept his eyes on the corn flakes drowning in his bowl. His godfather sighed, exhaustion creeping through.

“Look, I know you don’t want to talk about it,” Sirius’s words were low, soothing. Harry resented how calm he was trying to appear. “But I need you to promise me you will at least think about what I said.”

Harry scowled. After a few moments of silence, he pushed his cereal away, scraping the chair as he stood.

“I’m going to be late,” he muttered, picking up his schoolbag from the floor beside the table. 

“Alright,” Sirius sounded disappointed. If Harry were to look up, he would see the concern simmering in his godfathers’ eyes. “Have a good day at school, Prongslet.”

And if he didn’t already feel like the shittiest person on the planet, those words were like a punch to the gut. Guilt clawed at Harry’s chest. Keeping his eyes averted to the floor, Harry simply nodded a single, slight nod, before grabbing his keys off the counter and walking out the front door. 

The walk to school was occupied with thoughts of how badly Harry had screwed up. By the time he set food on school grounds, he had convinced himself that by the time he got home, Sirius would have all his things packed, ready to send him away. Harry continued fixating on the notion, panic clawing at his throat, making him swallow excessively. 

“Harry!” 

He looked up in time to see Ron barrel into him, throwing his arm over the smaller boy’s shoulder. Gathering his bearings, Harry noticed Hermione trailing behind Ron, a grin on her face.

“I can’t believe its already the first day of our Fifth Year!” Hermione was speaking so quickly, it sounded like she was humming. Like she had already drunk three cups of coffee. “Do you know how important our exams are going to be this year? I feel like I’m already behind.”

“Well, bloody hell Hermione. If your behind, then the rest of us are surely fucked. Ain’t that right, Harry?”

Harry laughed in agreement, shaking his head at Hermione’s worries. 

“I’m not kidding, boys. You need to take this year seriously!”

For what was one of many times, Harry silently thanked his best friends and their ability to pull himself from his own head. They walked through the gates of Hogwarts together, walking up the winding path to the castle. 

“I swear they need buses just to get us to the front doors,” Ron whined as they reached the entry.

“Don’t be silly,” Hermione responded. “It’s not that bad. You’re just lazy.”

“Oi.”

They joined the crowd of students flocking through the opening corridor. Harry noticed Dean and Seamus walking ahead of them but made no move to greet them. Hermione and Ron walked beside him, talking through Harry to argue with one another. He kept an eye out for distinct blonde hair, tyring hard not to make it obvious who he was looking for. 

“I heard Malfoy was lying about vacationing in France this summer, the git,” Ron said with a pleased smirk on his face. 

Almost instantly, Harry’s attention drew back to his friends. Panic seized his throat. Did they know who he was looking for?

Harry noticed Ron’s stare was stuck on the very person Harry was looking for. Standing at the doors of the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy stood in the centre of his Slytherin friends, an amused smirk adorning his face as he listened to Pansy Parkinson prattle on. 

“Let’s go find a seat,” Harry dove into the crowd, decidedly not looking in Draco’s direction. 

He missed Ron and Hermione’s frowns. The noise outside the Great Hall was only amplified inside. Harry winced, pain shooting through his temple at the cacophony. 

“Did you see that?” Hermione ushered them into seats towards the middle. “Malfoy saw us and didn’t even say anything. How bizarre is that?”

“Huh,” was Harry’s response. 

“What do you reckon is wrong with the git?” Ron asked, flopping into his seat, slouching with his arms crossed. His uniform was already rumpled, shirt untucked, tie crooked. 

Harry only shrugged. 

He was saved from further conversation on the matter when the assembly bell rang, causing the students standing to take their seats.

After everyone was settled, Dumbledore stood, and soon the entire hall fell into silence. It was like magic. The Welcoming Ceremony began as it did every year, sorting the new students based on the personality test they submitted earlier that summer. 

After a lengthy sorting ceremony, Dumbledore stood once more to announce the Fifth Year Prefects. By this point in time both Harry and Ron were blissfully tuned out, staring out the window of the hall. That was, until Dumbledore announced the Prefect for Gryffindor. 

“And I am pleased to announce, this year’s Gryffindor Prefects are Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley.”

For a moment, Harry expected his name to follow, so used to the three being scolded by teachers in that very order. It took a moment for them all to realise what was happening. Applaud erupted around them, which Harry was quick to join in on, shooting his two friends a proud smile. Ron had gone pale. Hermione wide eyed. She stood first, making her way to the front of the hall to receive her badge. Harry had to haul Ron to his feet for the other to follow. Harry cheered them on as they accepted their badges, laughing at the stunned look painted on Ron’s face. He could hear Fred and George whooping in the crowd, chanting their last name over and over. The two stayed on stage while Dumbledore continued announcing the other Prefects. Harry wasn’t surprised to hear Draco’s name announced, alongside Parkinson’s.

When they exited the stage, Harry couldn’t help but notice that despite his sneer, Draco didn’t say anything to the flabbergasted Ron or the bouncing Hermione. While Harry wasn’t overly impressed with his new friend, he noted it was indeed progress. 

“Congratulations, mate,” Harry bumped his shoulder against Ron’s when he sat down. He leaned over the boy. “You too, ‘Mione. Knew you would get it.”

Hermione smiled at his words. Ron only managed a pained whine which Harry took to mean he was happy.

Eventually, the ceremony ended. Students were given their timetables and were rushed out the door to get to their classes. Ron and Hermione were flocked by the other Gryffindor’s, all offering words of congratulations.

“You know,” Ron leaned towards Harry. “I honestly thought you would get it.”

There was a part of Harry that hoped he would, but he wasn’t about to tell Ron that. 

“Mate, I flooded the second-floor bathroom in our Second Year after setting off firecrackers as a distraction. Why would you think that?” 

“Well, I did help with that.”

“I deny ever having part in that,” Hermione said, sticking her nose in the air.

They boys laughed. 

Their first class of the day was torture. Double history with Professor Binns and the Ravenclaws. Ron and Hermione were flooded with congratulations still, each still riding on the excitement of their new roles. Even Hermione was struggling to pay attention, shifting in her seat and smiling to herself.

Harry, however, was falling back into the thoughts that had flooded him all morning. His shoulders were tense, and he sunk low in his seat, arms and chin resting on his desk. His fight with Sirius had started out so simple. A simple conversation. Then it had escalated into Harry screaming and swearing at Sirius. Why did he go off like that?

“Mate, about the whole prefect thing. Are you sure you aren’t mad?” Ron whispered.

Harry jerked his head to look at Ron.

“No, course not. I’m proud of you, Ron.”

“Are you sure?” He looked over the smaller boy. “You seem off.”

“Quite in the back please,” Professor Binns droned from the front of the room before continuing his lecture. 

“It’s nothing,” Harry whispered. At Ron’s blank stare, he conceded. “I’ll tell you at break.”

The day continued much the same, Harry staring forlornly in class, Ron shooting his friend concerned looks, Hermione forever attentive to the lesson. After History was English, then Maths, before finally lunch break. 

Harry spent most of maths trying to keep Professor McGonagall from catching onto his distracted mood, but he couldn’t make himself focus on the instructions given. Thankfully, the class wasn’t too difficult, and Hermione was feeling kind, letting him copy from her work most of the lesson. Still, he couldn’t shake his mood. He could feel the piercing gaze of Draco fixated on him as he slumped further and further into his seat, his jaw clenching tighter with each minute that passed. 

The bell finally rang for lunch and Harry couldn’t be more grateful. The class packed up, shoving books into bags, and scraping chairs along the stone floor.

“Finally,” Ron groaned. “I’ve been starving since history. Let’s go to the canteen, Harry. I managed to sneak some change from Fred and George this morning.”

“What are you doing?” Hermione asked. Not in the way that meant she was curious, but in the accusatory, ‘you better not be serious’ way.

“What?” Ron frowned. “It’s lunch.”

“Were you not listening at all during assembly?”

Ron looked to Harry who shook his head. 

“Honestly, boys! Prefects are meeting today at lunch to go over our duties with Dumbledore.”

“Oh,” Ron looked to Harry. “I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine.”

“I’m sorry, Harry.”

“It’s fine, Ron.”

“We can talk later?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Ron winced. He went to say something but was cut off by Hermione.

“Sorry, Harry, but we really can’t be late,” she grabbed a hold of Ron’s arm, dragging him out the door. 

The rest of the class had made their way out of the classroom already, leaving him with Professor McGonagall. The teacher finished gathering her notes from her desk. Harry tried to quickly sneak out before she noticed him. 

“Mr. Potter,” she called to Harry before he was about to slip from the room. “I understand it is the first day back in session, but please try to focus in my next class. I will not be as lenient as I was today.”

Heat flared across his cheeks. 

“Sorry Professor,” he mumbled, before fleeing the room. 

The hallway was nearly deserted when he stepped out. The cheers of students echoed through the walls from the field outside. Harry tried to keep himself distracted by counting the cracks in the stone floor as he walked, his steps slow and deliberate to buy himself time before reaching the lunch grounds. He had reached a count of 36 when he was startled from his thoughts by a warm hand wrapping itself around his mouth, another gripping his arm, pulling him into an abandoned classroom. 

“What the fuck!” Harry yelped as he twirled around to face his captor. 

“Shhh! Relax Potter!”

Standing in front of him in his neatly pressed uniform was non-other than Draco Malfoy. He stared at the Harry with an unamused look. A new, gleaming Prefect badge was pinned to his blazer. 

“What are you doing?” Harry whisper shouted.

“Checking what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Wrong with me? You’re the one that grabbed me!”

“Not that, you dunce,” Draco tutted. “You’ve looked like shit all day. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Harry should have tried harder to hide his sour mood from Draco.

“Aren’t you meant to be in a Prefect meeting?”

“Are you upset Weasley is Prefect? Because I can come up with a way to have him removed.”

“What! No! Don’t you dare do that.”

“So, you aren’t upset about that?”

“No!”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes. Now answer my question, Potter.”

“You answer mine first. Aren’t you meant to be in a meeting?”

“I’ll be late. So what? Now answer my question.”

The stared at each other with fierce, hard faces. Harry could feel the thump of his heart pounding from the adrenaline of being grabbed. He stared petulantly at the other boy. However, it didn’t take long for Draco’s determined eyes and set jaw to win against Harry’s resolve.

“Fine,” he sighed. “If you want to know, I had a fight with Sirius last night.”

The stern expression Draco wore waned, giving way to soft eyes.

“Are you alright?”

Harry shrugged. 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“You have a meeting.”

Draco groaned. 

“Damn the meeting, Harry. I’ll skip it if you need to talk.”

“You can’t just skip the meeting,” Harry protested. 

“Watch me.”

“Draco,” Harry groaned. “Look, it was silly. I shouldn’t be freaking out as much as I am.”

“But you are freaking out.”

Harry threw his head back in frustration. 

“I’m alright. I just need suck it up. Now, go to your meeting.”

“Harry,” Draco reached out, wrapping his hand around Harry’s forearm.

“Look, I will tell you about it later,” Harry reached up and placed his hand over Draco’s. “We can talk after the meeting. I’m not about to combust, alright?”

Draco huffed. 

“I don’t know, you looked pretty worked up in Maths.”

“Go to your meeting!”

Harry squeezed his hand before pushing the other boy away. Draco looked like he wanted to protest, but Harry could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his eyes kept flicking towards the door, and knew he was worried about missing the Prefect meeting. Despite the blasé attitude Draco pretended to have, he worked hard for his grades and skipping a Prefect meeting wasn’t like him at all. 

“We are talking later!” Draco pointed to him, before rushing out the door of the abandoned classroom. 

Harry couldn’t help the small chuckle escaping him, a dopy smile building on his face. He shook his head, trying to wipe his amusement from his face before he left the classroom. 

Outside, the courtyard was filled with groups of students eating, talking, playing sport, and sunbaking. The sting of the summer sun had lessened slightly, leaving behind a bearable heat that warmed the skin. Harry stood at the entrance of the lunch grounds, swaying as he surveyed the crowd. Usually Ron, Hermione and he would gather at the edge of the field, talking most of break while they ate. On the rare occasion, Ron and Harry would join in on a football game with Dean and Seamus, but they didn’t like to leave Hermione by herself too often so they saved the games for when she was in research mode at the library.

Now, however, he had no game plan. He didn’t feel up to playing football. He couldn’t spot Neville anywhere, meaning the boy was probably in the Garden Nursery helping Professor Sprout. He did see Ginny, her red hair shining in the sun, but she was surrounded by a group of girls and Harry would rather die than walk up to them right now. 

Just as he’d given up hope and was planning on re-entering the abandoned classroom he’d just exited; Harry spotted a sight of familiar silver hair. Squinting to get a better look, at first, Harry was sure he had spotted Draco. However, upon closer inspection, Harry noticed the blonde locks were much to long be Draco’s, and the person they belonged to, wore a rumpled skirt and bright blue knee-high socks.

Smiling to himself, Harry walked over to the welcoming sight of Luna Lovegood, glad to have found someone to eat with. When he approached her, Harry noticed she was reading a magazine upside down, her sandwich sitting untouched beside her. 

“Hey, Luna!”

She blinked her large, owlish eyes before looking up at him, quirking her head to the side. She was sitting on a brick wall, facing the courtyard. Behind her was a messy garden and in front of her, an empty silver bench.

“Hello, Harry,” she spoke in her dreamy, kind voice. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” Harry shifted his bag higher on his shoulder. 

Luna frowned at him.

“You want to sit with me?”

Harry scrunched his eyebrows.

“Well, yeah?” 

“No one ever sits with me at lunch. I’d be delighted to have company!”

Harry’s chest tightened, but he kept a smile on his face, dropping onto the bench in front of Luna. They quickly fell into light conversation. Luna told Harry about the magazine she was reading, which her father was the owner of, and Harry told her about his morning classes. He pulled the lunch Sirius had packed for him from his bag, pulling a pained face at the sight of it. He unwrapped the sandwich, hummed, then re-wrapped the sandwich before placing it beside him.

“Has something happened to upset you, Harry?” Luna asked, her wide, unblinking eyes were boring into Harry’s soul.

“What do you mean? I just told you my morning was fine.”

“I know. But you’re upset about something. I can tell. Nargles are swarming your head.”

For the life of him, Harry had no idea what that meant. Still, he pondered over her question. For some reason, talking to Luna seemed easier than with other people. He never felt judged by her in the few conversations they had, and she seemed to have no interest in gossiping. Nodding to himself, he decided to confide in the weird, friendly girl. 

“I had a fight with my godfather last night,” Harry decided to tell her in a hushed voice. “It got pretty bad.”

She hummed. 

“What did you fight about?”

Harry picked at the sandwich Sirius had made for him, unwrapped it again, noted it was plain peanut butter, and felt pain stab at his stomach. He didn’t take a bite. 

“It was stupid,” he murmured. At Luna’s silence, he kept speaking. “I, uh, haven’t been sleeping well. I don’t know if Draco told you about what happened, but Sirius getting custody was pretty … important. I wasn’t all that safe with my relatives.”

“They hurt you.”

It was a simple statement. Bare. There were no extra words to hide the implication of what was said. Harry flinched. 

“Yeah.”

Luna nodded in understanding. Yet, her face was blank. Unreadable.

“What was it you were fighting about?”

Harry scratched the back of his head. 

“Well, like I said, I haven’t been sleeping, and, uh, last night Sirius wanted to talk about how bad my nightmares had gotten, which I didn’t… I don’t want to talk about,” Harry cleared his throat. “And then he said, um… he said I should see a therapist. I kind of went off after that.”

He rewrapped his sandwich in its clingwrap, shoving it back into his bag.

“What’s wrong with you seeing a therapist?”

“I’m not some… I’m not a nutter, you know. It’s just a few bad dreams. I don’t know why they’ve been so bad lately, but they’ll go away eventually. So why would he say… I’m not crazy!”

Harry swallowed, trying to drown the lump building in his throat. Luna swayed her head side to side, seemingly contemplating Harry’s words. 

“You know,” Luna spoke in a low, soft voice. “Sometimes, after someone experiences something bad, something traumatic, they keep their feelings hidden, even from themselves, as a way of protecting themselves. And sometimes, it’s not until they feel safe that they let themselves feel what they felt when they were hurt. This might be why your dreams are bad. It’s because you finally feel safe enough to let your guard down enough to feel what you need to feel.”

After her words, Luna picked up her apple, taking a small bite. Neither spoke for a few moments. The crowds of student’s chatter, and laughter flowed through the lunch grounds. Harry’s mouth parted, and it took him a few minutes to think of a response.

“Really?”

Luna nodded.

“How do you know that?”

Finally, Luna’s expressionless blank face faded, and she gave Harry a small, saddening smile. 

“My therapist told me that, in my first ever session.”

The floor felt like it had dropped beneath Harry. His cheeks flared with heat and his chest tightened.

“Fuck, Luna. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say… I wasn’t calling you…”

The night he first met Luna came back to him, and he remembered what Draco had said others called his cousin. Loony Lovegood. He had essentially just called her that to her face. Luna gave him a kind smile, but it did nothing to lessen Harry’s guilt.

“I know you didn’t mean anything by it, Harry. I felt the same way you did when my dad first took me to see my doctor.”

“I’m sorry,” Harry repeated, wincing. “Really, I am. Why do you- Wait, no that’s personal, don’t worry-”

Luna giggled softly.

“That’s alright, Harry. I don’t mind telling you,” she placed her apple down beside her, picking up her magazine, holding it in her lap, but not opening the front page. “When I was young, my mother died, and I was with her when it happened. I saw the whole accident. It was really quite horrible. For a while after it happened, I was fine… but after a few months I started acting out, refusing to leave the house, hiding underneath my bed. Eventually, my dad made me go see this nice man who told me what I was feeling was completely normal. He told me, despite what had happened, that I was still me.”

She licked her lips, staring at the magazine cover. 

“I know what people call me. Loony Luna,” she smiles tightened slightly, and it was the only giveaway that she wasn’t entirely immune to the horrible name. “It’s alright, though. Because I know, just because I have a therapist, it doesn’t mean I’m crazy. I’m perfectly sane, you know.”

She finally looked up at Harry. Her blue eyes sparkled, so like Draco’s and yet, completely different. The kindness she gave away so freely was never something her cousin could replicate. It was unguarded, and fierce. 

Thoughts were racing through Harry’s mind. In such a short conversation, Luna had given him so much to think about. He was still wrapping his head around what she had said.

“You’re right. You aren’t crazy, Luna” Harry eventually stated. 

Her smile grew.

“I know you and your Godfather will work this out.”

“I don’t know. I said so many awful things last night,” Harry hung his head. 

“We all say things we don’t mean when we are upset, Harry. I suggest, you talk to him, and start with an apology. Most times, when we hurt the people that care about us, it is the best place to start.”

Harry shook his head, a small smile finally growing on his face.

“Has anyone ever told you that your crazy smart, Luna?”

“No, never,” she shook her head. “Though, there is a reason I was sorted into Ravenclaw.”

Harry chuckled, scrubbing his face, digging his hands into his eyes. 

“Well, you are crazy smart,” Harry smiled at her. “Thank you for that. I really needed to hear what you said.”

“Of course, Harry.”

He shook his head. 

“Alright, enough emotional talk. Tell me about your first day back?”

At the question, Luna looked at him like he had asked her if she would like a brand-new puppy, the way her eyes lit up with delightful surprise. 

She launched into a recount of her morning in the Garden Nursery, looking for Fae people in the flower buds. She was recounting how she had learnt of their existence when a shadow fell over Harry.

“Hey Harry,” Ginny Weasley stood behind him, looking upon Harry and Luna with a quizzical look on her face.

“Oh, hey Ginny.”

There was silence as he waited for her to say something. Instead, she just glanced curiously at Luna.

“Oh, Ginny this is Luna. She is in your year, right? Do you know her?”

She looked back to Harry.

“We have a few classes together, I think,” Ginny frowned at him.

“Science, Maths and Geography,” Luna stated, smiling at Ginny.

“Right,” Ginny’s frown deepened. “Well, I just wanted to come over to let you know you can come and sit with me and my friends if you like, Harry.”

Over her shoulder, Harry spotted a group of six Fourth Year girls, all staring at them with various degrees of disgust on their face.

He shook his head slightly.

“Um, nah. I’m right sitting with Luna. Thanks though.”

“Oh,” Ginny’s mouth hung open. “Um, well, do you mind if I join you two then?”

Harry looked to Luna, shrugging. 

“Oh, of course! I’ve discovered I quite like having people to talk to at lunch,” Luna beamed at the red-haired girl.

Ginny slowly sunk into the seat beside Harry. She continued shooting the two glances, her eyebrows scrunched. 

“So,” she drawled out the word. “How do you two know each other?”

“Oh, we met at the movies this summer,” Luna stated simply.

She looked about to say more, but Harry quickly cut her off. 

“Yeah, I went to the movies, by myself,” He emphasised the last word too much. He prayed Ginny didn’t pick up on it. “Um, and, I couldn’t decide what to watch. Luna told me to watch um…”

“Forbidden Forest.”

“Right!” Harry clicked his fingers. “That one. Uh, and yeah, we watched that together.”

Ginny’s eyes narrowed in on Harry. He tried to maintain eye contact, but he couldn’t hold her gaze.

“Oh my god,” Ginny gasped. “Are you two dating?”

Harry snorted, his eyes widening.

“Oh, wow, no!” he said.

Luna was quick to respond to Ginny as well. 

“Heavens, no. I’m afraid I just don’t like you like that, Harry,” she looked at Harry like she was afraid she had offended him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t feel like that for you either,” He looked to Ginny. “We are just friends!”

The two stared at each other, Ginny’s eyes narrowed, Harry’s wide. 

“We’re friends?” Luna asked, pulling the attention of the others.

“Well, yeah,” Harry frowned. “I mean, aren’t we?”

“I’ve never had a friend before,” she bounced a little in her seat, her smile growing wide. 

“Really?” Ginny asked, her expression turning to disbelief. 

“No, never! I did wonder what it was like,” she beamed at Harry. “I think you make a good friend Harry.”

“Literally, all I’ve done is sit with you at the movies and whine about my problems. I think you should raise your standards a bit, Luna.”

Ginny snorted.

“I have to agree with Harry there, Luna. Don’t worry though, I’m a much better friend than Harry.”

“Oi!”

The group laughed, spending the remainder of lunch chatting. Luna and Ginny got on quite well, and Harry was happy to let them run most of the conversation, only contributing when it was asked of him. When the bell rang for the end of break, Harry bid goodbye to Ginny and Luna, who barely spared a second to say goodbye to him, before continuing their heated discussion about flower crowns of all things.

After checking his schedule, Harry groaned, before entering the castle and beginning his decent to the dungeons for double Science. Deep into the castle, there were few if any windows lining the walls, leading the hallways to be shrouded in darkness. Harry stuck close to the wall, brushing the rough brick against his fingertips as he walked. Ahead of him, another boy walked, shoulders hunched over, neck hanging low, looking like he was walking to his execution. After a few moments, Harry noted the boy was none other than Neville Longbottom.

“You right, mate?” Harry jogged to catch up to him.

Neville jerked his head up, eyes bulging out of his head, until he focused on Harry.

“Oh, Harry. You frightened me,” he chuckled. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just not keen for Science with the bat, ya know.”

He trailed off towards the end, eyes scanning the hallway like said man would appear at the mere mention of the insult. They were nearing the Science room and could hear the chatter of their classmates echoing through the hall. 

Harry patted Neville on the back, shooting him a sympathetic smile. 

“One more year, right?”

Neville nodded solemnly. 

“How was your summer, Harry?”

“Eh…” Harry shrugged. 

“Harry!” 

Both Neville and Harry jumped, jerking around to see Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan running towards them. Dean had his bag thrown across his shoulder and a worn football tucked underneath his arm. They slowed when they reached the other two boys, grinning like madman. They had neared the classroom already, where ahead of them, most of the class was already gathered, including Ron and Hermione, and Draco who was scowling at something his friends had said.

“Mate,” Seamus flung his arm over Harry’s shoulder. “Did we really see you sitting with Loony Lovegood?”

“What were you thinking, mate?” Dean chimed in. “You could’ve come played Football with us!”

“She probably cursed you, or something mate! Don’t you know she is psycho!”

“A complete loony, Harry!”

Harry could feel his face growing red, temper rising at the words his supposed mates were spewing. Just as he opened his mouth to rip into Dean, anther voice called out to them, spewing angry spiteful words.

“Do you two have actual brains, or are your heads filled air like Thomas’s pet football?” Draco Malfoy sneered.

Harry blinked in shock. Draco’s eyes were narrowed on Dean and Seamus. The two boys looked at each other before burring up.

“What’s your fucking problem, Malfoy?” Seamus spat. 

“My problem is,” Draco crossed his arms, his expression growing dangerous and foul. “That’s my cousin your calling insane. If you have a problem with Luna, you got a problem with me, Finnigan. Call her insane again, and I will end you. Got it?”

Silence fell over the class.

Everyone, including Malfoy’s group of Slytherins were staring at the blonde with mouths aghast and eyes wide. Parkinson looked like she was one word away from an aneurism, looking at Draco like he had slaughtered her first born. Seamus stood in shock beside Harry, spluttering for a response. 

Harry, however, was trying desperately not to smile, hiding his mouth behind his hand, amusement simmering behind his eyes. Draco was staring at Seamus for a response, waited for a fight with hard eyes and thin lips. After a few more moments of silence, Draco finally surveyed the room around him. The other Slytherins still looked at him like he was an alien, the Gryffindor’s in a state of shock. His cheeks turned a faint pink, and he huffed a short sigh. 

“Shut up, Potter!” Draco snapped. 

“I didn’t say anything!” Harry yelped.

Draco opened his mouth to launch into a tirade of insults. Before he could start though, the dungeon doors slammed open.

“Inside. Now!” Snape’s voice echoed from the room. 

The class quickly shuffled into the room, confused looks still in place on many faces. Harry merely rolled his eyes at his teachers’ dramatics, before heading over to join Ron and Hermione, who were both heading towards the back of the room. 

“What the hell just happened?” Ron whispered to Hermione, who shrugged.

“Hey, guys,” Harry bumped against Ron’s shoulder. “How was the meeting?”

“Boring as,” Ron replied, dodging the smack Hermione aimed at his head. 

“Ronald! It was very educational, Harry,” Hermione took her seat and unpacked her books. “We went over our prefect duties and some of the additional perks of the job, like being able to take points from houses.”

“I bet Malfoy’s going to be a right dick about that,” Ron muttered.

“Well, he shouldn’t,” Hermione sniffed. “It was bad enough he showed up late to the meeting. He barely apologised, acting like he was doing us a favour by just being there. If I were Dumbledore, I would have given him detention.”

“Did he get detention?” Harry asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice. 

“Well, no. Dumbledore just said it was fine, but still, it was very rude of him to be late!”

Harry felt a twinge of guilt building in his chest. He glanced over to Draco, who’s blonde hair was distinct, making him easy to spot. Almost immediately, Draco’s eyes met his, and the boy gave a subtle shake of his head, indicating that he could hear their conversation, and knew from Harry’s expression he was about to defend the boy. 

“What a dick,” Harry mumbled instead, cold shame building in his stomach. 

“I do not wish to listen to your silly chatter about whatever meaningless teenage drama is happening in your life’s. You are here to learn, and you will pay attention to this lesson, or you will find yourself in detention for the remainder of the month.”

The class settled. Harry quietly unpacked his belongings, setting himself up for the class, glancing sideways at Ron who was rolling his eyes. The lesson passed agonisingly slow. Snape lectured the entire time, pausing only once to reprimand Neville for whatever issue he had taken up with the boy that day. Towards the end of the lesson, his eyes strayed over to Harry, and the boy waited for the insults to start. Instead, the man merely narrowed his eyes and continued his talk on modern vaccinations. 

The day continued with relative ease. The class had all but forgotten about Draco’s outburst. However, towards the end of the day, in-between classes, Harry had walked past Parkinson ripping into Draco over the matter. They were off to the side of the hallway, Draco surveying the students walking past, Parkinson staring at the blonde with bulging, outraged eyes. Ron and Hermione were too far into their argument to listen to the Slytherins argument.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Parkinson whisper shouted. “Telling everyone your related to her!”

“Look, don’t worry about it, Pans.”

“I’m worried about it, Draco. You haven’t even spoken to her since we started school. Why now, did you decide to declare that your related to…that!”

“Pansy, she is my cousin,” Draco turned his attention on Parkinson, his eyes narrowed. “Not only that, she has had a shite time of it. You know what happened to her mum. Stop giving me shit for trying to be a decent relative for the first time ever.”

Harry couldn’t help but smile at the shocked, open mouthed expression Parkinson pulled at those words. 

“Mate, you look better. Did you sort out what was bothering you?” Ron’s question 

Harry turned his attention back to his friends, noting he was flanked either side by Ron and Hermione, who were waiting for his response with puzzled eyes. Hermione frowned like she was unaware there was even a problem to begin with. Harry blinked before looking at Ron.

“Oh, yeah,” Harry rubbed the back of his neck. “I talked to Luna about it. She really helped me and gave me some good advice.”

“Why were you even sitting with her, Harry?” Hermione asked. 

“Um, we met this summer and she was really nice to talk to so I figured I would just sit with her. Kind of weird that she is Malfoys cousin, hey?”

“So weird!” Ron exclaimed. “I mean, I can see the resemblance, but for Malfoy to actually admit it. I thought hell had frozen over!”

“I couldn’t believe it, either,” Hermione chimed in. “Malfoy has been acting weird all day. Don’t tell me I’m the only one that’s noticed.”

Ron nodded along to Hermione’s words, before both turned to Harry for confirmation. 

“He, uh,” Harry stumbled for the right words. “He seems less of an asshole.”

Ron’s mouth fell open, and he shot Harry a scandalised look. Harry hunched his shoulders, throwing his hands up in a mock surrender.

“Sorry mate, I’m just saying.”

“Honestly, I agree with Harry,” Hermione conceded, mouth pinched like she had swallowed a lemon. “He hasn’t said anything to us all day, and that’s never happened. Especially to Harry.”

Harry nodded, thinking over the blonde’s usual attitude before the summer. 

“I don’t believe it. He’s probably just waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Give it a week, he will be back to his usual shit, I bet.”

Harry nodded again, slower, less convincing. 

“I guess we will have to wait and see.”

The rest of the day passed relatively quick. When the final bell rang, Ron and Hermione both headed off towards the buses, bidding goodbye to Harry who made his way to the bathroom. He muttered as he walked through the near empty halls, thinking about all the things he needed to talk to Sirius about. He was just about to walk out the entrance and onto the field, when a hand wrapped around his arm, jerking him into the corner of the corridor. 

“You have got to stop grabbing me, dude,” Harry breathed, heart pounding. “I swear, if I accidentally pop you in the nose, it’s on you.”

“Please, Potter. I’ve been on the other end of your punches. It wouldn’t do much good.”

“Except that time I broke your nose you mean, you mean.”

“It didn’t break!”

Harry smirked, watching the growing blush build on the pale boys’ cheeks. 

“Whatever! So, did Luna help you today?”

Draco crossed his arms. They were standing so close, hiding in the shadows of the corridor, Harry could feel the movement, the other boys’ arms brushing against his chest. Heat rose to his face, and he subtly tried to put some space between them, hyperaware that anyone could walk past them at any moment. 

“Yeah, she and I talked about the trouble I was having. Made me realise I was being stupid about the whole thing.”

“Well, being stupid is a skill of yours,” Draco smirked as Harry swatted his arm. “Glad you sorted it out though. What was the fight about anyway?”

“Eh, you know. Sirius suggested I should talk to someone about everything. Like, properly talk about it with a therapist. I wasn’t too keen on the idea.”

Draco quirked his head. 

“I mean, it’s not a bad idea.”

“Shut up,” Harry said without any heat. “Luna already told me that. I gotta go home and talk to him about it, anyway. I said some pretty shitty stuff last night.”

“Like what?”

Harry sighed. 

“I kind of told him to fuck off. Said he wasn’t there to like…stop it when shit was bad. That’s it’s not his problem, just because he feels bad about it all now. I really didn’t hold back…”

The words trailed off to a whisper as Harry pondered the horrible things he shouted at his godfather last night. He ran his hands up his arms, digging his nails into his skin, and scratching down in a long, deep drag.

“You’re an idiot.”

“I know that!”

Draco sighed. 

“He isn’t going to be mad, Harry,” Draco placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Hurt, maybe, but he I doubt he’s mad at you.”

“Guess I will find out when I get home.”

Despite the words, neither boy made any indication of moving. They stayed in their corner, Draco still holding onto Harry as the smaller boy wrapped his arms around himself.

“Harry, Draco,” A voice called from the hall, causing the two boys to jump apart. “What are you still doing here?”

Remus Lupin strode towards them, his brief case swinging by his side. He was clean shaven, his brown-grey hair ruffled as though he had run his hands through it several times that day. His suit was worn, and his shoes scuffed, but he looked comfortable and calm as he walked towards the boys. 

“Hey Moony,” Harry said.

“Professor,” Draco nodded. “I was just going. Father’s driver will be waiting for me. I will see you both tomorrow.”

Harry and Remus bid the boy goodbye. Draco gave Harry a final small smile, before his expression dropped into the indifference mask he usually wore when at school and he exited to castle in the direction of the pickup zone. 

Remus turned to Harry, shooting him a bright, calming smile.

“You doing alright, Harry?”

“Yeah,” Harry strained to force a smile in return. “Fine thanks, Moony.”

The man raised his eyebrow. His lip quirked and he glanced over Harry. 

“How would you like a ride home?”

So, not able to find an excuse to say no, Harry found himself in a dinged-up maroon Volkswagen with two doors and one broken, taped up window. No students loitered on the schoolgrounds, all the buses gone by the time Harry and Remus left the castle and no parents were left to pick up children. All that was left were a few cars in the teachers parking lot, each varying in levels of expense. 

“Nice car,” Harry said as the driver door groaned shut behind the teacher. A loose spring in the passenger seat dug into his lower back and it stuck of motor oil and petrol.

“It’s a piece of shit,” Moony smiled, startling a laugh out of Harry. “But it’s what I can afford.”

“Fair.”

The drive would be a rather quick one, which Harry could easily have walked, but still it was nice to recline and be driven home by someone. Harry stared out the window, watching the landscape pass by, noticing a few students walking into town from Hogwarts. 

“I believe I have you and Draco in my class first thing tomorrow,” Remus indicated to turn right. “But from what I could see today, I take it you two are keeping your friendship on the down low.”

“Uh,” Harry cleared his throat. “Yeah, we, I mean he, didn’t think our friends would approve. So, we are just keeping things normal at school.”

“I see. What was it you were talking about just now? It seemed rather serious,” Remus paused. “Don’t tell your godfather I just said that. I never want to hear the Sirius/serious joke ever again.”

Smiling, Harry mulled over the man’s question.

“I was just telling Draco about something. Nothing too… serious.”

Remus hummed, smirking at the boy’s choice of words. 

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with your nightmares, would it?”

The tone of his voice made it seem like a casual mention in the conversation, but the way Remus tightly gripped the steering wheel and glanced at him from the corner of his eyes told Harry otherwise. He felt like a rug had been ripped from under him.

“Sirius told you.”

“It was mentioned in our last chat,” Remus confessed, his voice still calm, soothing. “I promise it wasn’t a conversation about you though, Harry. It merely came up that you were both having trouble sleeping.”

“I’ve been having trouble,” Harry mumbled, turning away from Remus. “Not Sirius. I’m the one keeping him up.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

He shook his head. 

“I’m going to talk to Sirius about it when I get home.”

“That seems wise, Harry.”

The conversation paused. Harry mulled over what the other man had said, biting his nails as he thought. 

“What were you two talking about? That made him mention that.”

The car spluttered to a stop while Remus gave way at an intersection. He tapped the steering wheel and took a deep breath. 

“Well, this is something Sirius should be talking to you about, but I feel this is something we should also discuss with one another. Your godfather and me, we were discussing the possibility of me staying over one night,” the car jerked, hopping a few beats before beginning to move again. “Now, I completely understand if that is something you don’t feel comfortable with Harry, especially if you are struggling right now. I just wanted to let you know and keep you in the loop with everything as Sirius and I progress in this relationship. If you don’t feel comfortable with me taking this step, I completely understand…”

“Moony, relax!” Harry said, noting the man had failed to take breath since he started speaking.

The man took a deep breath. He frowned, glancing over at Harry.

“I apologise. I’m rambling.”

“It’s fine,” Harry chewed on his lip, thinking over what he had just been told. “I don’t really know what you want me to say.”

“Just tell me whatever you want to say, Harry. I want to know what you’re thinking.”

“I guess I don’t mind if you stayed over… but at the same time, I don’t really want you to right now. It’s bad enough that I’ve been waking up Sirius with my nightmares, I don’t want to do that to you too.”

“Oh Harry,” Remus smiled softly. “That’s our job. If your parents were still alive, we would have been right there next to Lily and James, dealing with every nightmare. Don’t you dare feel guilty for things you can’t help.”

Harry blushed. He shrugged his shoulders, sinking low into the seat despite the spring digging into his back. 

Remus pulled the car to a stop, putting the gear stick into neutral, pulling the handbrake. They were parked outside Harry and Sirius’s house. Remus cut the ignition, before turning to face Harry.

“How about this. Whenever you feel comfortable, we can start small. I can come over after school, join you both for afternoon tea, maybe dinner, and we can work our way up to me staying over the night with Sirius. Only once you feel comfortable, of course. How does that sound?”

Harry nodded, his stomach doing flips despite the car being stopped. He was unsure why the man’s words were making him nervous. There was something in the way that he was checking in with Harry, making sure he was comfortable with Sirius and his relationship that was so strange yet so reassuring at the same time. Never had the Dursleys thought to check if he was comfortable. Not even when he was a child, sleeping in the cupboard under the stairs in the middle of winter with only a thin blanket. He had merely been expected to adapt. Which he did. Now though, he had a say in what happened in his own home. 

“That sounds really good.”

Remus smiled at the boy, before nodding his head in the direction of the house. 

“Looks like someone is waiting for you.”

Sure enough, in the window was Sirius, waving frantically, smirking at them. Harry couldn’t help snort at the sight. Taking a deep breath, Harry nodded, bidding goodbye to Moony before exiting the car. The door creaked as it shut, the metallic ring sounding through the air. 

The thoughts that swam through Harry’s head that morning were still there, but he didn’t fixate as he walked up the steps to his front door. He took deep breaths, recounting the mantra he had been saying since chatting with Luna. 

“Apologise and hear him out. Apologise and hear him out. Apologise and…” the keys jingled against the wooden door as he inserted the house key.

The second he stepped in, Harry noticed the house smelt of burnt food and vanilla. 

“Harry’s home!” Sirius shouted from the living room. His shout was soon followed by deep joyous barks. 

Snuffles came bolting from the living room, his paws skidding on the wooden floors as he streamlined for Harry. The second the boy was in his sights, he began groaning, rubbing his nose against the boy’s hand, demanding pats with gentle nudges. Eager to please, Harry dropped his bag, closed the door, and crouched to cuddle Snuffles in his arms. The large size of the dog meant Harry struggled to hold him, and he was soon nudged to the floor, sitting cross-legged while Snuffles attempted to sit in the boy’s lap.

“How was school, Prongslet?” Sirius called from the living room. 

Harry stood, pushing off Snuffles and heading to the living room to speak with his Godfather. He opened his mouth to respond but before he could answer, Sirius continued talking. 

“Because, I tell you what, I have had a fantastic day. Snuffles and I, well we went for a walk this morning, then after we came home, I thought I’d give baking a go,” Sirius continued prattling on, bursting around the room as he spoke, moving books from the book shelf and ruffling the throw pillows. 

The room was a mix of clean and messy. The floors had clearly been swept, but dog toys were littered through the living room. Smoke was clearing from the kitchen, and the windows had been opened, letting in a cool, end of summer breeze. The furniture was placed in its usual spots, but upon the kitchen table a batch of burnt cookies were resting. It looked like Sirius had rushed from one job to the next without even finishing the first task. 

“… I mean, I think it went alright. Could have gone worse, honestly.”

“Sirius,” His godfather drew another breath, ready to continue his tirade, but before he could, Harry spoke again. “Pads…”

His voice was quite but strong. Immediately, Sirius paused. His eyes zeroed in on his godson, filled with panic and worry. He hovered in the centre of the room, swaying slightly towards Harry with his hands on his hips. 

Harry took a deep breath. His hands clenched at his sides. 

“I’m really… I’m so sorry.”

Sirius stood frozen like a statue. Harry tried to gather the words to continue. 

“I didn’t mean… Everything I said wasn’t…” Harry groaned, running his hand through his hair, messing it even further. “The things I said last night. I didn’t mean them. I was angry and thought you were telling me I was crazy. I shouldn’t have lashed out. I don’t know why I did, I just… don’t want you to think I am crazy.”

Sirius exhaled, like a punch in the gut had knocked the wind from his lungs. He closed his eyes, rubbing them with his hands, scrubbing along the stubble on his chin. The bun of hair wobbled atop his head, and soon Harry noticed his godfather was huffing short, dry chuckles.

“You’re not crazy, Harry,” his eyes narrowed in on Harry, near pleading for the boy to believe him.

Harry shuffled, avoiding looking at his godfather. 

“It just, it feels like I might be,” the words were whispered, like he was struggling to admit it to himself. 

“Harry,” Sirius groaned, before crossing the living room to wrap his godson in a tight, warm hug. “You are not crazy, and I would never say that you were. Do you understand me?”

Harry tucked his head underneath Sirius’s chin, hiding his face from view. 

“Listen to me, Harry,” Sirius placed his heads on Harry’s cheeks, making the boy raise his head to look at his godfather. “You are not crazy. You are a good person, who has had terrible things happen to him. No one is expecting you to be perfectly fine after all you have been through.”

Harry’s bottom lip wobbled. He bit it to stop himself from making any noise.

“Do you hate me because of what I said last night?” He whispered.

“No!” Sirius said emphatically, forehead frowning. “Harry, god no! Don’t ever think that. I love you. Yes, I will admit, I was hurt about how things went last night, but I do not hate you, nor am I mad.”

“But I yelled at you,” Harry shook his head, trying to break Sirius’s hold on him. “I said horrible things about you.”

“And I forgive you! Harry, please, nothing you do could make me hate you!” Sirius ran his hands down to squeeze Harry’s shoulders. “Besides, you weren’t the only one that said things they regret last night. So, I’m sorry as well. I shouldn’t have brought the topic of therapy up like that. I didn’t know you would take the suggestion so bad.”

“I thought you were calling me crazy,” Harry mumbled.

“I promise you I wasn’t. I want you to understand why I suggested that. So, can we try talking about this again?”

After a pause, Harry nodded. With a final squeeze to his shoulders, Sirius guided Harry into the living room to sit on the couch. The cushions were worn, making them more comfortable and softer than a brand-new couch.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Everyone!  
> Thanks for sticking with me long enough for me to post part 2 of my muggle au. I apologise if there are any mistakes, I edit this all myself and sometimes I miss things.  
> This is the chapter I looked forward to writing the most! I hope you enjoyed it, it certainly was the longest piece I have written in one go. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to JK.


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